Saudi Arabia Begins Real Estate Tokenization Pilot with droppRWA and RAFAL

Founded in 2007, RAFAL Real Estate Co. is one of Saudi Arabia’s leading real estate developers, known for delivering high-quality lifestyle communities. Backed by major partners including Lafana, A.K. Al Muhaidib & Sons Group, and Arabian Tawazon, RAFAL is committed to luxury, innovation, and forward-thinking urban design.

The transaction is hailed not only as a technological leap but also as a national benchmark for the feasibility of tokenized property in Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf region. The pilot will test fully regulated, blockchain-enabled property transactions using live real estate assets supplied by RAFAL, with the goal of setting a scalable model for broader implementation.

droppRWA, a company under droppGroup, provides sovereign-grade tokenization infrastructure to enable regulatory-grade trust and real-time settlement of real-world assets. The platform supports compliant, cross-border capital flows into sovereign economies, offering services for tokenizing real estate, commodities, and sovereign debt.

“This transaction marks a paradigm shift,” said Faisal Al Monai, co-founder of droppRWA. “Around the world, we are witnessing the greatest digital transformation of the 21st century—the transformation of capital itself. The mission of this partnership positions Saudi Arabia at the forefront of programmable economies, with real-world impact for every citizen. Starting at just 1 Riyal, you can own a piece of Vision 2030.”

At the heart of this initiative is a bold vision: to democratize access to high-value real estate assets and enable fractional ownership for everyday Saudis. Through the use of sovereign-grade Web3 AI and blockchain infrastructure, the partnership will allow citizens to invest in premium property developments with amounts starting in the single digits—a model that supports the financial inclusion and citizen empowerment goals outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

“For the first time, a young Saudi can own a piece of a premium development with just a few Riyals,” said Elies Abou Samra, CEO of RAFAL Real Estate. “That’s a powerful idea. Together with our partners, we are proud to pioneer a new model of ownership that speaks to the inclusive and innovative spirit of Vision 2030.”

The transaction is equally designed to serve institutional investors. The pilot will establish a fully regulated pathway for foreign direct investment (FDI), combining the speed and efficiency of stablecoin liquidity with the trust and compliance of sovereign-grade infrastructure. This digital investment rail is expected to attract trillions of Riyals in local and global capital into the Saudi real estate market.

Under the terms of the partnership, droppRWA will lead a feasibility study in collaboration with top-tier professional services firms to assess the full potential of property tokenization across RAFAL’s real estate portfolio. The pilot will culminate in the execution of a regulated proof-of-concept transaction, using live RAFAL assets to validate performance, compliance, and user accessibility.

“This will be a fully regulated pilot that provides a secure on-ramp for institutional-grade foreign direct investments into Saudi Arabia,” added Al Monai. “It merges stablecoin liquidity with sovereign-grade infrastructure, bringing real-world assets onto the blockchain with trust, speed and scale.”

The initiative is directly aligned with multiple pillars of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 national transformation plan. Key focus areas supported by the project include:

• Digital Infrastructure: Deployment of sovereign-grade blockchain and AI systems to support real estate transactions.
• Capital Market Sophistication: Introduction of compliant, blockchain-based investment instruments to modernize asset flows.
• Citizen Empowerment: Making premium real estate investments accessible to the average Saudi citizen through digital rails.
• Foreign Investment Attraction: Creating a regulated, trusted channel for institutional-grade RWA inflows from global investors.

The move is widely seen as a signal to global financial markets that Saudi Arabia is committed to leading the next phase of digital finance. With programmable economies gaining traction worldwide, the Kingdom’s foray into tokenized real estate may pave the way for similar innovations across sectors including commodities, sovereign debt, and infrastructure investment.

“This partnership with droppRWA is not just about technology—it’s about democratizing real estate investment and creating a global platform for foreign direct investment into the promising Saudi market,” said Abou Samra.

The leadership team behind this initiative includes Faisal Al Monai, co-founder & Chairman of droppGroup; Koh Onozawa, co-founder & CEO of droppRWA; Elies Abou Samra, CEO of RAFAL; Christopher Kelly, co-founder & President of droppGroup; and Ahmed Reda Halawani, Board Member of droppGroup.